FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA -- A state judge on Friday rejected a Virginia school system's bid to stop a lawsuit alleging that its transgender policies discriminate against Christian students.
Several religious students challenged the school's policies prohibiting the "deadnaming" or "misgendering" of transgender students, as well as policies allowing transgender-identifying students to use the bathroom of those of the opposite sex.
"A ruling that [Fairfax County Public Schools] FCPS' pronoun policy punishing 'misgendering' and bathroom policy based on 'gender identity' violate students' constitutional rights," said America First Legal (AFL), which argued the case for those students.
In court filings, it was stated that FCPS had shown animus toward Christians. For example, rather than taking the oath of office by swearing on a traditional religious text, the current chair of the school board took his oath on Gender Queer.
In court, FCPS focused on technicalities, stating that because plaintiffs had not been disciplined for misgendering, they had no basis to sue. The plaintiffs' attorney, Ian Prior, argued they engaged in "self-censorship" by avoiding using pronouns at all due to a "credible threat of enforcement."
FCPS's attorney Noah Sullivan responded that self-censorship solved the issue: "Their religion does not require them to use pronouns or to talk to people at all." He also suggested normal girls could use single-stall bathrooms if uncomfortable with encountering transgender persons in common bathrooms.
"Their purpose is to make Christians check their constitutional rights at the door and submit to state-sponsored ideology," Prior argued. "'Gender expansive' students may use any bathroom. Therefore we're treating gender nonconforming students more favorably than religious ones."
"Petitioners have no right at school to refer directly to other students by pronouns those students do not accept. It is inherently disruptive and not protected speech within the school setting," wrote Sullivan in a written filing.
The plaintiffs were pressured into answering true or false questions about whether a student has a right to be called by their chosen name and pronoun; 'True' was considered correct according to court papers.
Judge Brett A Kassabian rejected Fairfax County Public Schools' attempt to dismiss parts of the case dealing with pronouns.
"The Court overrules the Demurrer to Counts I, II, II, and IV," wrote Judge Kassabian.
Younger students joined after an original plaintiff graduated; however FCPS claimed they couldn't sue unless they showed shared bathroom usage with transgender individuals. Plaintiffs sought single-stall restrooms instead.